Trolley-pole.



A. R. CHRISTIAN.

TROLLEY POLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY8,1910.

' Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

4 suns-31mm 1.

A. R. CHRISTIAN.

TROLLEY POLE.

APPLICATION FILED ULY 8, 1910.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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TROLLBY POLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1910.

mmm es $1 A.- R. UHRISTIAN.

TROLLEY POLE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1910.

1,083,266, Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

& SHBETSSHEET 4.

ARTHUR RICHMOND CHRISTIAN, OF CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND;

TROLLEYJOLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application filed July 8, 1910. Serial No. 570,931.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR RICHMOND CHRISTIAN, a subject of the Kin of Great Britain, and residing at 179 Here ord street, in the city of Christchurch, in the Province of Canterbury and Dominion of New Zealand, have invented new 'and useful Improvements in and Relating to Trolley- Poles, of which the following is a specificat-ion.

This invention relates to trolley poles such as are used in electric traction systems to engage with and conduct the current from the overhead wire to the car.

In trolley poles at present in use, the construction comprises 'a pole hinged'at orjnear its lower extremity to a suitable base or pillar according to the type of pole orsystememployed, the said pole being maintained upwardly at an angle of approximately 45, so as to place its trolley in contact with the wire, by means of a helical spring or-springs acting in compression. In trolley poles of this description there is a serious danger of the trolley, should it accidentally disengage the wire, fouling some portion ofthe overhead gear of the permanent way, as, owing to the absence of the downward-pressure exerted upon the trolley by the wire, the spring carries the pole upward and maintains it in this condition being replaced, Fig. & is a showing the pole in the running position,

until it is again replaced by hand.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide means whereby this momentary upward movement will cause the compression of the spring or springs to be ,s'ufiiciently relaxed to allow the pole to fall back again by reasonof its own weight toa point below the who where it will he in no danger of coming in contact with any of the overhead gear and means are also pro vided whereby the pole may be simply and expeditiously replaced with its trolley wheel in contact with the wire. 4

In order that my invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure'l is a plan view of the pole of that type in which the spring is arranged horizontally, showing the invention applied, the pole (which is broken away for conveni ence) being in the lowered position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of. the same, Fig. 3 is a similar view of the ole in process of lso a similar view Fig. 5 type in which the spring is arranged vertically, showing the pole in the released condition, Fig. 6' is a similar view showing the pole in process of being replaced'upon the wire, Fig. 7 is a similar viewshowing the pole in the'running position, Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a ortion of the connecting rod and the sli able and fixed bridges showing the pawl in the position which it assumes when the pole is in the condition shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 1], Fig. 9 is also a similar view. showing the position which the pawl assumes when the pole'is as shown in Figs. 3, 6 and 12, Fig. 10 is also a simiar view showin the pawl in the position it would assume len the pole is as shown in Figs. 4, 7, 13, 16, 17 and 18, Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a similar type of pole to that shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, but with the butter spring arranged within the main spring,'the pole being in the released condition, Fig. 12 is a similar view showing the pole in process of being replaced upon the wire, Fig. 13 is also-a similar view show- 14 and 15 are respectively side and rear elevations of a portion of the/device slowing the arrangement of the retarding device and the slidable and fixed bridges, Fig. 16 is a' side elevation of a pole of the horizontally arranged spring type,'.showing the pole fin the running position a portion .of the main spring and the core thereof being broken away in order to show the bufl'er spring which is arranged therein, Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a similar type of pole to that shown in Fig. 16, the buffer spring in this case however being a detached portion of the main spring, Fig. 18 shows this arrangement of the butter spring applied to the pilis a side elevation of a pole of that i 'ing the pole in the running position, Figs.

are attached by pins 5 arranged at a suitable point above the pin 3, so. as to give sal icient leverage to control the pole, the necessary pull being exerted upon the rods 4 by means of the bridge 6 which is attached thereto and the core 7.

here shown attached to thepole by means of the arms 15, to draw the bridge 6, to which core 7, provided upon the base 2. Upon the arranged upon the core 7 drawn downward by hand until it assumes which is adapted to slide upon a suitable core 7 is threaded a helical spring 8 so that the latter may be compressed between. the said bridge 6 and an abutment 39 provided upon the base 3 at the point where it joins Instead of securing the bridge 6 permanently to the rods 4 as is customary, in thls invention the bridge is made slidable upon the rods and maintained in the required position when the trolley is in contact with the wire by pawls 9, arranged within the holes 6, in the bridge 6, through which the rods pass. The pawls 9 are pivoted at their forward ends as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 and are adapted to engage with the notches 10, formed .in the upper sides of the rods 4, in which position they maintain the pole upward in the ordinary manner so long as the trolley remains in'contact with the wire. Should however the trolley leave the wire, the pole, being freed from the downward ressure of such wire upon the trolley, will lie carried upward by the spring 8 which action manifestly necessitates a backward movement of the rods 4 and bridge 6. Arranged behind the bridge 6 is another bridge 11 which is securedto thecore 7 and is provided, at points in line with the pawls9, with inclined surfaces or cams 11, which, when the bridge 6 moves back in the manner described, engage with the rear ends of such pawls, which project beyond the rear of the bridge 6, and thus lift the pawls a sufficient distance to cause them to disengage the notches 10 and so allow the rods to slide through the bridge 6 and release the spring and permit the pole to fall by means of its own weight. The -iole is arrested, when it has dropped a sufhcient distance to insure its clearing all overhead gear, by meansof the compression of the buffer spring 12 be tween the bridge 11 and the bridge 13, at tached to the end of the rods 4 and slidably In order to reduce the friction between the cams 11' and the ends of the pawls 9, the latter may be provided with rollers 9. The pole will now be in the condition illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and in order to restore itto the running position again, with the trolley in contact with thewire, the pole is the position shown in Fig. 3.- This action causes the flexible connections 14, which are they are attached, forward, away from the fixed bridge 11 thus freeing the pawls from the cams 11' and allowing them to fall into position ready to engage the notches 10 again, while at thesame time the distance piece or retarder 16 to be afterward explained is drawn up into the space now left vacant between the brid es 6 and 11, as shown in Fig. 3. The p0 e'is now released and is thrown upward by the action of the spring 8, which was partly compressed by, theaction of drawing the ole down, and also by the compression of tile buffer spring 12, which upward movement of the pole car-' ries the rods 4 backward. The bridge 6 however, when attempting to run back also, comes in contact with and is momentarily arrested by the retarder 16, which has not had time to fall clear of the bridges. The rods4therefore slide through the holesin the bridge 6 sufliciently far to enable the pawls tarder falls clear of the bridges by means of its own weight and so the poleis restored to the running position as shown in Fig. 4.

With a pole of this ty e, in order to guard against the pole rebound ing after it has been lowered into the osition shown in Figs. 1 and 2, owing to the buffer spring, a locking device ma be employed to secure the bridge13 to the' x'ed bridge 11, such locking device com rising a e sudden compression of .bar 17 hingeably secured to the bri ge 13, at

its rear end, while its forward end is provided with a hook adapted to engage a suitable pin or projection 18 upon the bridge 11, when the pole is in the condition shown in F i 1 and 2, ,while apin or lug 19 is provi ed upon the retarder 16, which, as the latter is raised in the action of re lacing the pole in the working osition, w1ll come in contact with and so li t the hook clear of the I pin 18, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The buffer spring it will be noted, in addition to discharging its function in obviating the shock when the pole is lowered, also assists the main spring in supporting the pole when the latter is in the working position and the general arrangement of this bufi'er spring may be varied to suit requirements without in any way interfering with its usefulness for both purposes. For'instance, in the arrangement shown in Fig. 16, the buffer spring is placed within the core 7, 1n whlch case it is compressed between .a fixed stop at the forward end of the core and a plunger 20 which is connected by means of a rod 21 to the bridge 13., Again in the form shown in Figs. 17 and 18 the buffer spring 12 constitutes a portion of l the main spring 8 from which it is sepa rated by the bridge 13", which, instead of being secured to't-he ends of the rods 4 as is the bridge 13, is slidably mounted thereon so that, as long as the pole remains in the working position. the bridge 13" does not come into action but merely slides upon the rods and the core as required. When however, the pole is released the stops 22, placed upon the rods 4, behind the bridge 13, come in contact with such bridge 13" and thus tothe pole, is placed thereon a sufficient diswhile the bridge 11 provided with the cam .13". A bridge 24, having a hole to permit tothe brid'ge 6t and engaging with the: notch 'allow the pole to fall until arrested by the the fixed bridge 11" and the slidable bridge beneath the bridge 6", so that as the rod 4 process of replacing, such stop 25 will come as the rods continue their forward movement, in the action of lowering the pole, they cause the bridge 13 to compress the spring 12 and obviate th'e jar in a similar manner to that already described.

In Figs. 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 and'13, the invention is shown applied to that type of pole in-which the spring 8 is arranged vertically within a hollow pillar 23, in which case the core 7 is dispensed with and its position is occupied by the single connecting rod -l, the bore of the tube acting as the guide for the spring 8 and the slidable bridges 6 and of the rod 4- sliding through it, is secured near the upper end of the bore of the pillar, being employed in place of the abutment 39 to effect the compression of the spring 8. The pin 3 upon which the pole is hinged is iii this case securedto the upper end of the pillar .23, and the pin 5 by means of which the connecting rod :1: is attached tance inward fron'rthe pin 3 to give the rod the required amountof leverage to control the pole as before described. In this type of pole, the bridge (3? obtains its hold upon the rod 4 by means of a pawl 9, attached 10, 'in'- the rod-41*, all arranged and acting in a similar manner'to that already described,

11 is secured in the bore of the pillar l)Q-- neath the bridge 6 so that when thetrolley disengages the wire, the pawl will be caused to release the rod from the bridge (3"- and compression of the butter spring 12 between 13 secured to the rod 4? in the manner previously described in connection with the other type of pole.

The pole when in the released condition, as shown in Fig. 5 is replaced in engagement with the wire in the same manner as previously described by drawing the poledown stillfarther by hand. Owing to the. lack of space within the pillar however, the flexible connections 14%, which are used in the horizontal arrangementfor drawing'the bridge 6 away from the bridge 11, are dispensed with and in order to effect this object, a pin or other suitable stop 25 is placed upon the rod 4:, at the required point rises when the pole is drawn down in the in contact with and so carry the bridge (3 upward away from the bridge 11, in a similar manner and for the purpose previously explained. The same arrangement may be applied to the horizontal type of pole by placing a stop 25, in rear of the bridge (3, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, in

which case the connections l-t would not be necessary, but as will be seen that the connections are s ed to the pole at apoint where greater leve ge is obtained they will impart to the bridge 6 the required amount of movement without having to draw the pole down so far as would be necessary where the stops are employed, and for this reason therefore it is considered advisable to use the connections where the construction permits.

it. will be noted from Figs. 6 and 7 that the fetarder. 1G in this case acts in precisely the same manner as that in the other form of pole, a spring 26 however, adaptedto be ('(unplGSSetl when the device is-drawn into place between the bridges, is employed .in place oi gravity, as in theother ,type,-.to

carry the retarderout of action after the pawl hasengaged the notch; In order to give sull'icient space. to accommodate. the retarder when out of"action, thefnnder side of the bi-idge 6 is, here shown beveled.

The arrangement shown in Figs.- 11,. 12

and 13, differs from that of Eigs.f5', 6 and 7, in that the buffer spring12 is situated \V1i'-il ln the spring 8, the compression of such butter spring being effected. between .the

bridge 24 and a collar or stop 27, placed at therequircd point upon the rod-4. In the form illusti' ted in Figs-18, the arrangement is also s irnilar'tothah-of'the othw's of the pillaritypeexcept that the the extremities of its two branches, rollers or wheels 28", of such diameter that, when drawn between the bridges 6 and 11 or 6* and it in the manner dcscribed, they will serve to bridge or nearly bridge the gap between them. The top of the arched member -28 is hingeably secured to the extremity of the long arm of the hell-crank-lever 29 which is fulcrumed upon the pin 30, secured either to the pillar 23 or else to the member 31,

which projects from the bridge 1.1 or any other convenient fixed point. The other arm of'the lever 29 which is made shorter than the before mentioned arm, in order to magnify the movement of the rods 4 sufliriently to operate the retarder. in the required manner, is connected, by.means of the link 32, either to the end of the rod 4 or some other convenient member which is adapted to move therewith, such as for instance the bridge 13 in Figs. 1,2, 3 and 4.

The end of the arm is slotted in order to allow the link 32 to travel back with the rod 4 without carryin the retarder out of action when the pole is being replaced.

In all types of pole it is thought advisableto provide means for adjusting the length of the rods 4 or 4 and according to the drawings this is effected by connecting the rod to the pole by means of the link member 83, which is secured, at its upper or forward end, to the pole by means of the pin 5, whilethe end of the rod passes through a hole in its rear or lower end where it is secured by means of the lock nuts 34. i

In the. foregoing, the invention is described as applied to two of the most commonly used forms of pole but 'it must be clearly understood that its application is not limited thereto and in any case where the pole is maintained upward by means of. compression springs, the adaptation of the device for the purpose hereinbefore explained must be understood to come within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

, 1. In trolley poles of the class described,- the combination with a trolley pole of a spring adapted to hold the pole e evated in contact with the trolley wire, rods having notches therein connected' to said pole, a

bridge slidably mounted on said rods, pawls carried by the bridge engagingthe notches of said ro'ds whereby the spring is main tained in compression, means .for automatically relaxing the spring when the pole dis engages the wire, comprising a stationary bridge arranged in the rear of said slidable bridge and provided with means for disengaging the pawls from the notches when such slidable bridge is caused to approach the stationary bridge, and means for arresting the pole when it has fallen to apoint clear of the overhead (gear, comprising a second bridge controlle by said'rod's and a buffer spring adapted to be compressed between the stationary bridge and said second brid e.

2. In trolley poles of the class described, the combination with a trolley pole of a spring adapted to hold the pole elevated in contact with the trolley wire, rods having notches therein connected to said pole, a bridge slidably mounted on said rods, pawls carried bythe bridge engaging the notches of said rods whereby the spring is maintained in compression, means for automatically relaxing the spring when the pole disengages the wire, comprising'a stationary bridge arranged in the rear of saidslidable bridge and provided with means for disengaging thepawls from the notches when such slidable bridge is caused to; approach the stationary bridge,- and means whereby the compression, of the controlling spring may be restored after the polev has fallen, comprising tension members connectin the pole and sliding bridge whereby the sliding bridge will be drawn forwardly on the drawing down of thepole below its fallen position and means for retaining the sliding bridge in a forward position until the rods carrythe notches therein back into engagement'with the pawls, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR RICHMOND CHRISTIAN, 

